Father-of-two killed in crash near Shrewsbury

Steve Conde, 46, had been riding his black Aprilia Shiver GT 750 on the A49 at Dorrington, near Shrewsbury, on Monday.

He had been out riding with three other motorcyclists when he was involved in the collision with a Transit van heading in the opposite direction towards Shrewsbury.

Mr Conde, who has a son and a daughter, grew up in Park Hall, Gobowen, and ran a successful joinery business in Liverpool Road, Oswestry.

His family today confirmed that he had been in the collision but did not want to make any further comment.

Police have reissued an appeal for witnesses and especially for the driver of a car which was travelling in the same direction as the motorbikes to come forward.

Richard Ewels, West Mercia Police spokesman, said: “In particular we would like to speak to the driver of a dark coloured car, possibly a VW Golf, which was travelling in the same direction as the motorcyclist, to get in touch.

“Its driver was flashing headlights as a warning to oncoming traffic about the collision and may have seen it happen.”

The collision happened at about 12.30pm and involved a red Ford Transit.

Mr Conde was airlifted to the University Hospital North Staffordshire in Stoke-on-Trent but died shortly after arriving.

The driver of the van was taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital with shock.

The main road through Dorrington was sealed off for several hours following the crash.

Police also made a fresh appeal today for witnesses to a fatal road accident on Saturday. It involved a 60-year-old man who died when the box van he was driving left the A5 and went down an embankment near Oswestry. The victim has not been named but is believed to be from Shropshire.

Police are trying to establish the circumstances in the moments leading up to the crash.

Witnesses to either collision are asked to contact Shrewsbury police on 101.

Leave your tributes to Steve Conde in the comments below. Discussion of the incident will not be published.